WTA Power Rankings, Top ten players on the tour - Part II
Here is the second part of the top ten players on the WTA tour in terms of their power ranking points
3. Vera Zvonareva with 1023 power ranking points
Russian tennis sensation Vera Zvonareva moved to a career-high world number two ranking after a stunning performance in the China Open saw her reach the final, where she fell to world number one Caroline Wozniacki.
The right hander was once again beaten by the top seeded Dane in the semi-final of the season-ending tournament in Doha after she had earlier beaten Kim Clijsters in a round-robin match.
This season has been her career-best as she successfully made it to two Grand Slam finals in a row, at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in New York.
Over all, the Russian reached a total of six finals in 2010 but ended up winning just a solitary title. However, her consistency ensured that she would finish the year as the world number two.
In order to have greater success, particularly in the Grand Slam events, the Russian will definitely have to learn to control her nerves and perform well when it matters the most on court.
4. Victoria Azarenka with 594 power ranking points
Victoria earned her spot in the season-ending tournament a week before, after she captured her second title of the season at Moscow. The right hander went down 1-2 in the round-robin matches at Doha, with her only win coming against Jelena Jankovic.
Apart from her quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open, Victoria made early departures in the following three majors.
She concluded the year at number ten, three positions below her 2009 ranking.
Once predicted to be the next world number one, Victoria has now been surpassed by twenty year old Dane, Caroline Wozniaki, of Denmark. She has yet to make her way into her first Grand Slam semi final on the tour but next year could prove to be her break-through season.
5. Samantha Stosur with 549 power ranking points
The Australian tennis sensation Stosur entered the season-ending tournament with little rhythm. Stosur, who reached the final of the French Open earlier in 2010, was able to defeat the hottest contender on the tour Caroline Wozniaki, and also avenged her Roland Garros loss to Schiavone. She was however beaten by the tournament’s eventual winner Kim Clijsters in the semi-final round.
She first broke into the worlds top ten after a final four appearance at Indian Wells. But the best was yet to come as she stormed into her first major final at the French Open, after getting the better of three former number ones on her way.
Despite an opening round departure at Wimbledon, Stosur achieved her career high ranking of world number five back in July.
With the Australian’s power game, Stosur can produce even better results next year, provided she remains consistent in her performances on the tour.
6. Francesca Schiavone with 541 power ranking points
The clay-court period this season on the WTA tour was full of upsets with Aravane Rezai capturing the Madrid title and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez triumphing in Rome.
However, nothing was more surprising than Francesca Schiavone’s inspirational trophy run at the French Open in Roland Garros. It is tough to imagine that the 29-year-old Italian was defeated in the opening round here back in 2009, falling to none other than Samantha Stosur, her opponent in the final this season. The Italian, by virtue of her title victory, improved her career ranking to number six in the world.
After a historic performance at Roland Garros, Schiavone however couldn’t continue her form as she triumphed in just three clashes in her next six competitions. She snapped back into form at the year’s final major, the U.S. Open, advancing into the quarters.
Francesca went down 1-2 in the round-robin matches in Doha, losing to Samantha Stosur and Caroline Wozniaki and beating Elena Dementieva. Already 29, 2010 could very well turn out to be the finest season in her professional life.
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